In photography, bokeh refers to the blur in a photograph and is created by separating the subject from the background.

Bokeh is fairly simple to understand. It occurs in the out of focus regions of a photograph. This means that if you were to point your focus on a specific subject, the other areas of the photograph will be out of focus. There is a rule to this though. Bokeh will only be noticeable in heavily out of focus areas. In other words, you must have a small depth of field in order to achieve it. The depth of field as you may recall in my low light and DSLR controls tutorials is controlled by the aperture of a lens. To recap:

• Large apertures (small numbers) such as f/2 have a shallow depth of field
• Small apertures (large numbers) such as f/8 have a large depth of field

In relation to bokeh, you will want to set your lens to a large aperture to achieve a shallow depth of field. If your depth of field is shallow, your camera can only register a small portion of your photograph in focus. This is what creates the blur or separation between subject and background in a photograph.

Large Apertures vs. Small Apertures

Take a look at the photo above and below. The photo above was shot at an aperture of f/1.2. This large aperture provides a very shallow depth of field and as a result, the entire background is rendered out of focus. The photo below however was shot at an aperture of f/3.2. The background is still out of focus, but noticeably less compared to the above photo. If I wanted to render the entire background in the photo in focus, I could have shot this picture somewhere around an aperture of f/8.

Important Notes

• Large apertures create more dramatic bokeh
• Small apertures create less noticeable bokeh

Controlling Depth of Field

What would I do if I didn’t want to render the entire background out of focus? There are some instances where you will be forced to shoot at a large aperture (low light without flash for example) and you may not want to create such a drastic separation between your subject and background. In this case, you will need to be mindful of your depth of field. The photo below was shot at an aperture of f/1.2, yet the level of blur and subject/background separation is dramatically less than my previous example. If you notice however, I’m standing much further away from my subject. The level of separation between the background and the subject is decreased as you move further away from your subject. In addition to this, the level of separation is also decreased when you move your subject closer to the background.

Important Notes

• Increasing the distance between yourself and your subject will make your background blur less noticeable
• Decreasing the distance between your subject and the background will make your background blur less noticeable

Focal Length and Bokeh

As I mentioned above, your distance from your subject can control your depth of field and in turn it effects the quality of a photograph’s bokeh. It should be no surprise then that your lens’ focal length should also effect bokeh. At long focal lengths such as 85mm and up, bokeh becomes much easier to produce, allowing you to create a dramatic separation between your subject and background. In contrast however, shorter focal lengths have more difficulty producing bokeh. While you can certainly create bokeh with a focal length such as 24mm or 35mm, its effect will be much less noticeable than what you would create at 50mm, 85mm, or even 135mm.

Below you’ll find a comparison of the bokeh produced at 85mm and 50mm at f/1.8 and another comparison between 24mm and 85mm at f/4. Both 50mm and 24mm photos are cropped to try and resemble the focal length of the 85mm.

In the above photo, 85mm at f/1.8 blurs out the entire background, however you can still make out one of the trees closer to the subject in better detail. In the below sample at 50mm, the tree picks up a more defined shape and it’s not until you look further back that the bokeh starts to really pick up.

Even at f/4, the bokeh at 85mm is noticeable. In contrast however, at 24mm, the background is pretty distinct.

Important Notes

• Longer focal lengths produce more bokeh
• Shorter/wider focal lengths produce less bokeh

For this tutorial, I’m going to go over the use of focal lengths beyond the convenience of zooming in and out, and how to choose the appropriate focal length. In portrait photography, the focal length you shoot at not only affects your distance from the subject, but also the manner you interact with the subject and the level of distortion in the image.

Image Distortion

There are three types of focal lengths; wide, normal and telephoto. Wide lenses distort an image to fit more in a frame. Normal lenses try and replicate the focal lengths of our eyes. Telephoto lens, as you probably guessed by now, bring the frame closer to you. Any lens under 35mm is considered a wide angle and 70mm and up is telephoto. The focal lengths in between 35-70 can be considered the “normal” range.

Important Notes

• Wide: Distorts or stretches an image. Distortion becomes more noticeable as you get closer to the edges.
• Normal: Nothing special
• Telephoto: Compresses an image. This causes the subject as well as the background to appear closer than they are

In portrait photography, the compression provided by telephoto lenses is usually a good thing. Because of this, portraits, especially head shots are usually shot in the 70-200mm range. Can you imagine shooting a full length portrait of someone with a wide angle lens? You would throw off perception of your subject’s height and/or weight depending on your position. As for close ups, facial features would become distorted or magnified.

Below are two uncropped shots to show the difference in compression from 17mm and 35mm. The most obvious difference between the two is the body size of the subject. A closer look will bring up some other differences however. The “forward lean” of the subject is emphasized more in the 17mm shot and you can see a slight difference in facial structure between the two shots.

Subject Interaction

Image distortion isn’t the only thing to keep in mind with specific focal lengths. You should also take into consideration how you plan to use the lens. Wide angle lenses will require you to get closer to your subject, while a telephoto allows you to stand further back. These are things you should consider as they affect your shooting style.

For instance, I like to shoot at 17mm when covering parties because the focal length requires me to get close to my subject. This allows me to interact better with my subject in this shooting situation.

There are times however when I don’t want to get close to my subject. With portraiture, I may need to distance myself to make the subject feel more comfortable, or if I’m doing candid street photography, the distance makes shooting strangers in a natural, unposed environment a little less awkward.

Important Notes

• Short focal lengths: Short focal lengths let you get in close and interact with your subject.
• Long focal lengths: Long focal lengths require you to distance yourself from the subject to fit them in the frame. This distance can make it easier to catch a candid, natural shot, or help a model/subject feel less intimidated by being directly in front of a camera.

Shooting in low light is always an obstacle, especially if you decide to go at it without a flash. I personally hate flash for anything other than studio work or event photography (typically the dance floor) because I think it completely destroys the mood of a picture.

Before we go into this, lets go over some of the basics that I covered in my previous tutorial, How to Control Your DSLR.

• Slow shutter speeds let in more light, but subject you to motion blur.
• Wide apertures let in more light, but limit your depth of field.

There’s one more point that I left out in the previous tutorial. ISO sensitivity. ISO values range from 200 to 3,200 on most cameras, but some higher end models can go as low as ISO 50 or as high as ISO 204,800. Lower ISO’s let in less light but offer you a clearer picture. In contrast, you can pull off some pretty near-dark shots with high ISO’s in exchange for picture grain. For the most part, ISO 200-400 is pretty standard for every day shooting. Once you start going up to ISO 800+, you’re getting into the high ISO range.

• High ISO’s let in more light, but create grainy/noisy pictures

So there you have it. The basic formula for shooting in low light without a flash. Slow shutter speeds, wide apertures, and high ISO’s. Depending on your situation, you’ll want to play with these three values to get the best picture possible. If your subject is moving constantly, you may not be able to shoot at a slow shutter speed, and will have to compensate with a wider aperture or higher ISO. In a group photo, a wide aperture may not be appropriate so you’ll have to lower your shutter speed and raise your ISO.

Shooting With Wide Apertures

Shooting with a wide aperture lens is probably the most effective thing you can do to help with low light shooting. Just keep in mind however that wider apertures create a very narrow depth of field that can be in focus. The above image was shot at f/1.2 and as you can see, the entire background is completely blurred out of focus.

Manual Focusing

In some cases, it might be so dark that you won’t even be able to focus your camera without turning the flash on. In these situations, you’ll have no choice but to resort to manual focusing. Manual focusing is one of those things that can really only get better with practice. If you have a history in film photography, you may find the adjustment a bit easier, but for the most part Digital SLR’s weren’t intended for manual focusing. If you are having trouble manual focusing, and nothing seems to be working, there are two things you can do here. The first option is to upgrade your focusing screen. I use the Canon Eg-S Super Precision Matte Focusing Screen and it really makes a huge difference in your focusing ability. The second option is to turn on your camera’s “live view” mode which will force you to use the LCD screen to compose an image as opposed to the viewfinder. When viewing your picture in live view mode, you should be able to magnify it on the LCD, which will allow you to get a closer view on the subject that you’re focusing on.

Hand Holding at Slow Shutter Speeds

The hardest part of shooting at a slow shutter speed is keeping your hands steady. The common rule is to shoot at a minimum shutter speed that is slightly higher than your focal length in order to ensure the camera doesn’t pick up any shakey hands. In other words, if you’re shooting with an 85mm lens, you’ll want to set your shutter speed to a minimum of 1/100th of a second. With a little bit of practice however, this can be ignored. I do a lot of my shots in the 1/30th and 1/50th of a second range. The shot above was shot with an 85mm at 1/50th of a second. Surprisingly, it’s much easier to pull this off when there’s a bit of weight to the camera. Using a battery grip or a heavier lens may help you to steady out your hands when shooting.

High ISO Noise

Here’s the thing with high ISO noise; the noise, or grain, will be much more apparent when there is less light. Take a look at the example pic I used for manual focusing and compare it to the picture directly above. Both images were shot at ISO 5000, yet the picture above looks much more noisy. This is because there was less available light at the time. In other words, if you’re looking to raise your ISO to get a shot, take a look around and examine the available light. If there’s any ceiling or backlight going on, you may be able to raise your ISO higher without sacrificing too much quality. Even in the above image, the right side of the image looks slightly less grainy then the left side of the image.

As for how high you can raise your ISO; that is entirely dependent on your personal preferences and your camera. I don’t mind a little bit of noise in my pictures because the look reminds me of old film. You should feel fairly comfortable shooting at ISO 1600 with a Canon 7D or any other higher model. If you are shooting with a Canon Rebel however, ISO 1600 is kind of pushing it.

Know Your Limitations

Unfortunately, there are shots that just can’t be made. The above shot was done using manual focusing at ISO 6,400 (the highest that I’ll comfortably shoot at without worrying about too much noise), aperture f/1.4 and 1/50th of a second. It’s completely unedited and as you can tell, almost entirely black. My camera shoots up to ISO 25,600, but with the amount of light available in the room an ISO that high would have resulted in a terrible amount of noise. Below is an example of the how the photo may have come out if I shot at ISO 12,800 or 25,600. The horizontal lines in the image is called banding noise. Banding is usually found in underexposed, high ISO images and is the main reason why I try to avoid pushing my ISO past 6,400. In the example below, the banding noise that was nonexistent in the original image became more apparent because I brightened the image by a significant amount.

I’m going to bring to light a little secret here that will drive camera manufacturer’s mad. When shopping for entry level or mid level cameras, it doesn’t matter what camera you shoot with, the results will be the same.

If you’re shopping around for cameras within the $600-$1400 price range and your main concern is image quality, then look no further than the cheapest model. Modern camera’s in Canon’s Rebel line will produce almost the same quality photos as the cameras from the xxD line. The main reason for this is that image quality is largely dependent on two factors, the camera’s sensor size and the lens. Camera’s within Canon’s consumer line all use the same APS-C sized sensor. The same holds true for the comparable Nikon cameras. While upgrading your camera will do little to no good for image quality, buying a new lens however could potentially be a night and day difference.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the factors that should influence your camera decision.

What Are The Differences Between Entry Level and Mid Level Cameras?

You’re paying for two things here when you move from entry level (Rebel series for Canon) to mid level (ex. 60D); build quality and feature set. Feature set may include certain video recording options, better autofocus, rotating screen, faster shooting rate, etc. Build quality is also much better and the control layout is more intuitive, allowing for easier and more comfortable shooting. If you’re just looking to take snap shots every now and then and want a reliable camera, then in my opinion, the differences are definitely not worth it.

How Do I Decide Between Nikon and Canon?

Here’s another common question I get from people looking to get their first camera. This actually applies to any camera brand, but I’m specifying Canon and Nikon since they are the most popular. While I haven’t done any heavy work with Nikon, I’ve read reviews and I’ve played around with them on occasion. Being a Canon shooter, I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed with either brand. There are many things I prefer from the Nikon brand, and likewise there are things from the Canon brand that I couldn’t do without. My 5D Mark II for instance has terrible autofocus when compared to the Nikon equivalent, D700. However, the Nikon D700 does not shoot video.

I originally bought a Canon in high school because this was the camera of choice of my favorite photographers. I had no photo knowledge at the time, and simply dived into the purchase. While I don’t regret it, if I had to do it over, I would base my decision on the following factors:

1. Which control layout feels better for me?
Go into a store and hold/play with both cameras. Canon and Nikon have very different control layouts and you should get the one that you feel more comfortable with.

2. Which lenses appeal more to me?
If I had any reason to stick exclusively with Canon, it would be the Canon 85mm f/1.2L. Nikon simply does not make an equivalent lens to this. Most lenses by Canon and Nikon are pretty comparable, but there may be a few exclusive lenses to the brand that you specifically want.

3. What are my friends shooting with?
Camera equipment is expensive. Shopping for the same brand as your friends will give you the option of sharing and trading lenses later down the line.

Aside from those three points, everything else is trivial. Most entry level and mid level cameras should give you a comparable shooting experience.

When Are Mid Level Cameras Worth the Extra Expense?

For the casual shooter, the only reason I would recommend a mid level camera is if you do a lot of fast shooting (sports, lots of movement, anything like that), or use your camera enough to justify the better build quality. Also as silly as it may sound, if you have large hands and expect to use your camera a lot then it may be worth it as well. The bigger size of mid level cameras really make handling a lot different.

A while back, I wrote a tutorial on selective color grading where I discussed altering the color on specific parts of an image. For this tutorial, I’m going tone that down a bit, and go over a quick and simple process to color grade your photos in just a minute or two. Before I begin though, for those wondering, yes she is wearing grills. Now shut up and keep reading.

For those familiar with Photoshop and Lightroom, the easiest way to do this is adjust the photo’s temperature and tint values. Adobe makes this really easy for us by allowing us to make these adjustments with a simple sliding bar. But what if you want a little more control over those values, while still keeping the editing relatively simple and quick? This is where the curves tool comes into play. In Photoshop, you can access the curves tool in either the layer adjustments or image adjustments menus.

Notice the clarity of Joy’s face and intensity of the shadows as the curve takes on different shapes

The curves tool is typically used to adjust the tones of an image. If you open up the tool in Photoshop, you’ll notice a straight slanted line. This line can be adjusted in any number of ways to take control of midtones, shadows, and highlights of an image. The lower portion of curve handles shadows, the middle part handles midtones, and of course, the highest end of the line will control your highlights. With that in mind, you’ll notice a submenu that allows you to select a color (red, blue, or green). The default option for the curves tool is RGB. By selecting a specific color, we’ll be able to control the tones of that color value and effectively alter the color of an image. In the above example, you’ll notice that the red curve is pointed down. By doing this, the blue and green values took precedence. The opposite effect can be noticed on the image to the right when I raised the red curve.

So give it a try. Simply adjust the specific curve for an image’s red, blue, and green values until you get something you’re happy with. Below is the example curves I used for Joy’s image. I decreased green along the shadows, increased blue along the shadows, and increased red along the highlights (this last part was necessary to keep her skin tone clear and natural). I went a step further by using the burn tool (exposure set to 14%) to add a very subtle contrast to her hair, eyes, and the background. You can see the contrast comparison to the right.

You can do a lot with the curves tool once you get used to it, which is why I prefer working with it over the standard temperature and tint adjustments. In the below photo, I used an S shaped curve for the red, green, and blue values to achieve a retro, slightly chemically (is that even a word?) effect on the image.

There’s a lot of gear envy going on in the photo world. I’ve lost track of how many times people have contacted me trying to compare equipment or ask for advice towards their next camera or lens purchase. It seems like some people are more concerned with having an arsenal of lenses than their actual work itself.

If you ask me what piece of equipment you should invest in, there’s only one thing I can say back to you. “What do you shoot?” This is the most important question for determining your gear. The next question is, “how do you shoot?” Anything you buy relating to photography should be based on these two things if you really want to get your money’s worth it.

Someone once asked me for advice about purchasing a Canon EOS 5D. They’re reasoning? They wanted a nice camera to take pictures for their personal blog, and at the time this was my camera of choice. I thought the idea was absolutely retarded for two reasons; they don’t make money from their blog, and they don’t know a thing about photography. It made as much sense as purchasing one of these to film home movies of your baby.

I have other stories, like the guy who purchased a Canon 24-105L and a Canon 24-70L and then came to me asking for shopping advice. I don’t care what any other photographer says, those lenses are fucking identical.

With those examples said and done, let’s take a look at how to fine tune your photo gear selection. Hopefully we can stop worrying about what we own and put more thought into making our current shooting practices as efficient as possible.

Figure Out What You Shoot

Is it cars? People? Landscapes? Products? There’s a reason why there’s so many lenses out there. Some lenses are just better at a particular task than others. Once you figure out what you shoot, narrow it down some more. Let’s say you like to take pictures of people. Ask yourself, “what does the majority of my work consist of?” Head shots? Parties/events? Social candids? Sports?

Here’s some lens examples for the above things I mentioned. Keep in mind these are just general suggestions.

• Head shots – An 85mm or 135mm would be lovely. In fact, any zoom lens that has those focal lengths in its range should be fine too
• Parties – The convenience of a zoom lens would come in handy here.
• Social candids – Are you lazy? Get a zoom. Do you like to move around and interact? Pick up a 35mm or 50mm
• Sports – Something in the 135-200mm range would be your best bet

This doesn’t just apply to lenses though. We can also talk about cameras. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II. The 5D is known for being the go-to camera for many portrait and wedding photographers for the following reasons: high ISO and full frame. If I was into sports I probably would’ve bought a Canon 7D for the 1.6x crop factor (this multiplies every lens by 1.6. A 35mm essentially becomes 56mm), faster autofocus, and faster shooting.

Figure Out How You Shoot

Do you shoot for fun or do you make a living out of it? Do you shoot mostly in the studio or are you constantly out on the street and moving around? These are just some of things to consider in this category. I like to be constantly moving when I take photos or else I might get bored. This is one of the reasons why I shoot with all prime lenses. This isn’t an ideal set up for everyone, especially considering you need to change lenses every time you want a different focal length, but it works well for me. Another benefit is that prime lenses are generally smaller and lighter than zoom lenses. The absence of that extra weight is well appreciated.

Figure out what your situation is and fine tune your gear for your needs. Here are some things you might want to consider:

• Does carrying heavy equipment bother you? You might want to start looking at prime lenses.
• Are you constantly shooting in environments that can damage your equipment? It might be a good idea to invest in weather sealed equipment
• What is your most typically used focal length? If you find yourself shooting at a certain range more so than others, it might be time to upgrade that piece of equipment
• Are you trying to get out of your comfort zone? You already know what you shoot and your equipment is already tailored for your needs. Now might be a good time to explore a new focal length